Fierce Creatures

We asked Ackermann to tell us about the people and things that have most influenced him over the years—and now. Click here to read the full article.

I love to go to the Sahara—you feel like this very small person in the immensity of the desert. The light is amazing, and there is no horizon, which is very intriguing. During the day, it is too hot to move around; so you follow the moon at night, and it leads you across the landscape. You find yourself walking endlessly, not knowing where you will end up.

My first experience of the Sahara was when I was a child and a friend of my parents took me there on the back of a motorbike. It was so great to be out in the open air with this incredible sense of freedom. The last time I went was five years ago. We traveled in a jeep and then rode on camels, which was very uncomfortable. After two hours, you’re like: Enough—where’s the car? I would love to go back, though any endless landscape would do. ­Patagonia, Scotland—it’s about losing yourself in nature.